Enoch: Fact-Checking Your Walk - Part A

Likely a lot of things that we have added to our lives that don't add up to a hill of beans that are not important at all.

We just get involved in them and now they're stripped away from us. Our relationship with God can be boiled down to a simple concept because it is walking with God. That's it in a nutshell what is it to live the Christian life is to walk with God. Sometimes we can be adding things to her faith that actually draws us away from God. It's time to slow down and reevaluate today on connect with skip-Skip shares for one of the most powerful testimonies of faith, you can have comes from a simple faithful walk with the Lord would begin. Here's a great resource that will equip you to live in God's truth. A recent study of the cultural research center velvet Christians are almost just as likely to reject the idea of absolute moral truth are to accept American adults believe in absolute moral truth is eroding across all age groups and political ideologies with other church or unchurched.

What that means is that over 75% of Christ followers are those who purport to be Christ followers are saying that nothing can be known for certain.

There is no absolute truth about you. We want to help you understand the nature trip you can pursue God's true and apply your life to brand-new booklets but Skip by truth matters in God and suicide if you fall under that category. What you do with the claims of Christ Jesus, that I am the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the father except through me. These booklets are our thanks for your gift of $35 or more today. They'll keep this ministry on the air, connecting more people to God's word to give. Call 800-922-1888, and securely connectwithskip.com/office use Chapter 11 today get into the teaching skip-make a guess that your life was pretty busy before culvert 19 that your calendar was fall that you were wishing for more time on your hands.

Work was piling up deadlines were all around you, and then this hit course, we've already talked a little bit about that on a number of occasions, but I love the story about a traveler who was deep in the jungles of Africa. He hired locals to carry his burdens for him and that they got up one morning and they pushed long and hard.

They went all day long and the traveler was very satisfied that they made good progress and was hoping that the second they would be just as ambitious, but the next morning the locals just sat there and wouldn't budge, and the traveler who was hiring them to carry things and move forward said we gotta get going melt were not going to go anywhere and so when he asked why the chief of that group said we moved too fast on the first day and now were waiting for our souls to catch up with our bodies.

I love that little story because even in Christian work. Our souls need to catch up with our bodies. You know, I've been pretty busy during this time is of most of my staff members have may be doing a few different items but I'm starting just as hard as as long but I feel like the Lord is telling me you need to set as much as you can and listen to me I'm I'm reminded of the church of Ephesus and Jesus commanded them is that I know your work. I know that you will labor but I have something against you.

You've left your first love. The love of a spouse will be intimacy of the walk, and perhaps one of the positive upswings side notes of the pandemic is that it helps us evaluate our priorities so that we get down to the irreducible minimum of what's truly important in life deserves. Frankly, a lot of things that we have added to our lives that don't add up to hello beans are not important at all leaders get involved in them and now they're stripped away from us. Our relationship with God can be boiled down to a simple concept. The concept is walking with God.

That's it in a nutshell what is it to live the Christian life is to walk with God. So I'm hoping that through this study, you will fact check your spiritual life by means of cutting out things that are unnecessary, that it does become baggage for you. The term walk is a biblical expression it's found all throughout the pages of the Bible old and New Testament is a term that basically means your conduct or your manner of life in Colossians chapter 2 verse six Paul writes as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, so walk in him. Galatians chapter 5 walk in the spirit and you will not fulfill the cravings or the desires of the flesh. First John chapter 1. If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ. God son cleanses us from all sin. Second Corinthians chapter 5 verse seven we walk by faith and not by sight. What Paul means by that is that faith becomes the lens through which we view everything else we view life review decisions, we view the world. Even the pandemic through the lens of faith. You know I'm not a fan of pigeons I've never liked my Szabo Cinemas flying rats. I hated them at the beach. They were everywhere, just the cluttered up everything but what fascinated me is the way they walk in somebody explain this to me what times as you know why they walk so funny is that pigeons are unable to focus while they're moving and they need to bring their head to a complete stop, focus, move it again and so they you see them going back and forth had forward stop backward stop. Backward stop, etc. that's how they're focusing I discovered in our spiritual life we have basically the same problem.

It's hard for us to see while were moving and so again one of the things God is a allowed us to do is to slow down and stop moving catch our breath, but her soul catch up with our body. Find out what God is saying to us personally. We need to stop between the steps we need to really focus on our relationship to the will of God pulling away. Needless sooner superfluous superficial things the complicate our walk. Now with that as an introduction.

I take it. Hebrews chapter 11 where we are in this lineup of the Hall of Fame of faith, or simply call the hall of faith. I'm in to read for context sake beginning in verse one down to our text, which is in verse five and six.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen for by at the elders obtained a good testimony by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible by faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts and though he being dead still speaks.

Now here's a look at tonight by faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him for before he was taken.

He had this testimony, that he pleased God, but without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him V-neck. Not much is known about the Nick and that's because his story is very scanty does not occupy much space in the biblical record for a lot of people. It's an obscure name in the list is an interesting note about unit. He's an Old Testament figure, but more is said of him in the New Testament been in the Old Testament.

So in an all in the Bible there are there are five passages about V-neck are two of them are just genealogies that mention his name at least three passages of real significance. Genesis chapter 5 that's the source Hebrews chapter 11.

That's our text and Jude the little book of Jude versus 14 and 15. Those are the passages on his life if you were to add up the number of words devoted to V-neck 51 words are in the Old Testament 94 words are in the New Testament as I say he is an Old Testament figure, but more a set of him in the New Testament than the old sort and a look at his life. He's mentioned here in Hebrews 11 is in the list, but the author gives of examples of those who live by faith.

Go back to the source. Genesis chapter 5 and consider the background of what he's writing about and look at a few things.

The life of V-neck the legacy of V-neck and the lessons of V-neck very, very simple outline the life of V-neck is given to us in Genesis chapter 5 I'm in. I began in that chapter and verse 18 dimension and not really talk about all these names or ages why they live so long done that before, but this is Jared lived 162 years and begot V-neck after he begot V-neck.

Jared lived 800 years and had sons and daughters so all the days of Jared were 962 years and he died.

V-neck lived 65 years and begot Methuselah after he begot Methuselah. Enoch walked with God. 300 years and had sons and daughters so all the days of V-neck were 365 years and Enoch walked with God and he was not for God took him to Genesis chapter 5 which is the source chapter covers a span of 1500 years. It is a genealogical record. You might call chapter 5 of Genesis.

The and he died. Chapter presents the recurrent phrase is less like nine times.

It says this guy did this in the live that long and he died.

This guy did this and of the son and he died and he died and he died just fulfilling what it says back in earlier chapters in the day that you eat of this fruit you are going to die. Death and her death spread and death reigned. So here's the record 1500 years and everyone mentioned here died. Everyone except one and that is our hero. That is the man of the exception, and that is unit V-neck was not known for building anything alike an arc like Noah, he didn't found a city like Cain did or Nimrod did also famous Old Testament early patriarchal personages. He's not known for that unique was really an ordinary guy who served an extraordinary God. I've used that phrase before but I want to sort of tap into that he was an extraordinary man, and I'll say that he had an extraordinary relationship with God because of its simplicity. He had an extraordinary relationship with God because of its simplicity. Simply put, he walked with God. That was his testimony. He walked with God. I know a lot of people are attacked are attracted to sensational testimonies of people. I was a drug addict as a murderer. I bought and sold people and I did this and then God got a hold of my life all is a great testimonies.

I love a good story and a good testimony matter what it is but perhaps the most dramatic testimony is an everyday person who walks with God every day. I think that's a powerful testimony which are like my walk with God really yeah I do it every single day, month after month, year after year throughout a lifetime. That sort of sums up Gina. Let me give you little sketch of this man. V-neck lived in challenging times will mean he lived after the fall. So sin entered the world that complicates things any live right before the flood and and we get the idea that you Nick at some point made a choice to be obedient to God, to walk with God to follow God when no one else was doing it, he becomes the exception during that time he didn't always walk with God. There was a particular time.

If you read the text carefully that he decided I'm to start walking with God. Now I want you to see it.

Look at it again. Verse 21 you Nick live 65 years and begot Methuselah after he begot Methuselah V-neck walked with God. 300 years. He had a wife and kids that will do it that'll do that sort of wakes people up. I notices a lot of people get married. The young and fancy free. Then they start having children legally and II think I need to get moral underpinning. I was raised with one eye straight from that. But I think I need to get back to church and get my kids involved the want to leave something with her children it could simply be that that he Nick knew he was surrounded by an ungodly world and he decided now is the time to make a stand.

I need to live differently. I need to think eternally. I live in a wicked environment and the idea of raising kids in that environment makes me want to walk with God, return us to a personal question if if you could live 300 years. Not that you want to but let's say you could live 300 years.

Let's say you did live 300 years what your testimony be after living 300 years.

Would you be able to survive all the corruption and corrosion that is in the world and could be said of you. You walked with God that long that some people here that may go well. Now it wasn't as corrupt back then as it is today really mean it was so corrupt that God drowned the entire world and the flood that's pretty corrupt that we know the God judge the world.

One day in a similar manner, though not by water but by fire, but that hasn't happened yet. It was a very wicked generation. The next chapter says how wicked it was a God saw the intents of man's heart is being evil continually. Here's the deal.

A person who walks with God doesn't follow the crowd. If the crowds going the wrong way. Everybody's going that direction and it's the wrong direction. A man or a woman to face with Monica walk with them.

I don't care what they think or what they say or how they'll ridicule me a person of faith will go against the stream go against the flow because they're going the wrong way and so they want to go the right way.

I have a story that I've loved for a long time about about a spider who built beautiful web in an old home and he kept a clean and tidy, so that flies would patronize the minute he got a customer he would he would clean up on him or attack them and eat them up. So the other flies wouldn't get suspicious. Then one day a fairly intelligent flight came buzzing by the clean spiderweb old man spider called out. Come on in, have a seat, but the fairly intelligent fly said no sir, I don't see other flies in your house and I'm not going in alone, but presently he saw on the floor below a large crowd of flies dancing around on a piece of brown paper. He was delighted he was not afraid of lots of flies were doing it. So we came in for a landing and just before he landed up he zoomed by and said don't land there stupid it's flypaper but the fairly intelligent fly shouted back.

These silly those flies are dancing is a big crowd down there. Everybody's doing it that many flies can't be wrong.

He died on the spot fairly intelligent but not smart enough. A wise person will not go with the crowd of the crowd is going in the wrong direction. He Nick walked with God when the world was not walking with God something else to note about him. Not only did he live during challenging times with you. Nick was a prophet.

According to the Bible, according to the New Testament by so there there's more written about him in the New Testament, in the old Jude who happened to be the brother of Jesus. Incidentally, half-brother wrote a little epistle one chapter called the book of Jude. He talks about you Nick and according to Jude he Nick preached a message as a prophet to his generation I'm quoting now from Jude.

Verses 14 and 15.

It says you Nick the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, behold, the Lord comes with 10,000s of his saints to execute judgment on all, here's a guy who lived before the judgment of the flood, and he predicted, there is a coming judgment. How did he know there was a coming judgment. I believe God gave him a revelation through which he named his son. It says here Methuselah. Now we read Methuselah and the only thing most people about Methuselah's. He's the oldest guy in the Bible 969 years, but the name Methuselah means man of the sending forth or another way to translate it when he is dead. It shall be sent forth so the ideas he's proclaiming a judgment is coming. He names his son when he is dead. It shall be sent.

What's interesting about that is if you do the math and you calculate the 969 years of you Nick, you discover the year he died, his exact year. The flood was sent the year he died. As the year the flood was set so here's the idea he he's not going to die and we need for a long time and when he does die is when the judgment is coming and that's when the flood was sent so as Enoch walked with God. God revealed that to him that judgment would come now I know how you raise a kid like this because I think if you are a mystery Nick or Mrs. Ian acute on the trip to go out of the house because you want to do everything you can to forestall judgment if when he dies. Judgment is coming right so we got a cold all my goodness right this could be it got cold and you know because you know the judgment is coming when this guy kicks the bucket. I'm sure all the neighbors want to babysit and get vitamins everything they can to keep his good life. But he Nick was a prophet. The Bible says and he proclaimed, and look forward to a coming judgment and that's that's even seen in the name of the son, and 1/3 factor about Teaneck and probably the most interesting to most people is that he Nick didn't die a physical death.

It says in Hebrews 11. Our text verse five by faith you Nick was taken up, he was taken up so that he did not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him for before. He had taken him.

He had this testimony that he please God. Now that's explained back in Genesis chapter 5. So if you go back to Genesis chapter 5 it says that it says you Nick live so many years, but verse 23, all the days of Munich with 365 years and Enoch walked with God and he was not and hits a funny little phrase is like one day. There he was.

The next day there. He wasn't designed for what was dad.

He didn't come home for dinner and was my husband and he just was God in us is in Hebrews.

The Lord took him and it says that here in Genesis, God took him.

He didn't die. Now back in Hebrews, what we started where it says by faith he Nick was taken away the little phrase taken away means to be carried over or to be carried across or you could translated to Sandhu, he was suddenly transferred a sudden transfer from Earth to heaven. So God carried he Nick over death. Sort of like picking him up of one chore and moving them over onto another shore. You might say that his is the longest walk anyone ever took with God because it still going on.

He just kept walking with God. Walking with God or walking with God and walking with God.

Walking with God every day consistently and then God just took him to have you. Nick was the subject of a Sunday school class and the teacher tried to explain to the kids. Kids came home one set of parents asked her daughter.

So what was Sunday school and she said is all about the scanning Munich and so they say will tell us the story and here's her explanation. There is a man who every day went out to walk with God and one day they walked together, and they walked until it was almost dark when this man started to go back.

God said hey you Nick you walk with me so long and you're so far from home wanted you just come home with me and he's been with God ever cents. I like her explanation.

I think that's beautiful because walked with God and said walk with me into heaven, so he's on earth one moment next April gone and instantly in episode Teaneck didn't die, he becomes exception to the rule that is appointed and every man wants to die. Not him. He had died yet. There's all sorts of theories about them all spare you, but but let me throw's a suggestion out to you. He Nick becomes our type of believer who will be alive on earth in the future when God calls that generation home. It's coming. You know the Bible does predict that the that there will be people who will miss death altogether. First Corinthians chapter 15 poses, behold, I show you a mystery will not all sleep or die, but we will all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye that Skip message today from the sea, respect right now to tell you. Your support helps keep these messages coming your way next the gospel. You know the world doesn't understand Christians and with good cause were called to be set apart from the world while also living in, but sometimes we need encouragement and that's where this broadcast comes in. We seek to equip and encourage friends like you in your walk with the Lord, and you can help keep these faith building messages on the air. Here's how you can give a gift today.

Visit connectwithskip.com/donate to give your gift today that's connectwithskip.com/donate or call 800-922-1888.

Again, that's 800-922-1880 coming up tomorrow Skip by six years of continued big steps forward in your faith by getting back to the essentials. What is a like to relate to God please God walk with God that simplicity. I love that this will walk with God is different from job with God or chat with God, or even weekly visit with God is go have a weekly hour with God along with God is consistent so you presentation of connection communication is changing to